ALPS treated water: Japan's efforts with IAEA and the international community.

I feel compelled to write this piece with regard to the article entitled 'The Fukushima controversy' written by Dr. Imran Khalid on March 4; I have to point out that the article is based on factual errors and asserts wrong conclusions.

First of all, Japan will never discharge 'nuclear wastewater' or 'contaminated water,' which exceeds regulatory standards into the sea, as mentioned in the article. There are two different types of water in the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. One is 'contaminated water' generated on the site, and the other is 'ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System), the system sufficiently purifies such 'contaminated water', treated water,' What Japan is planning to discharge into the sea is 'ALPS treated water,' not 'contaminated water.' To avoid public confusion, it is important to understand proper terminology; the IAEA has also pointed out the importance of the distinction between those terms.

'ALPS treated water' to be discharged will be sufficiently purified until the concentration of radioactive materials other than tritium is far below the regulatory standard and will be further diluted before the discharge. After the dilution, the concentration of tritium will be 1/40 of the regulatory standard and 1/7 of the WHO drinking water standard, and the concentration of radioactive materials other than tritium will be less than 1 percent of the regulatory standard.

In more detail, the assessment of radiological environmental impacts was conducted in line with the international guidelines, taking into account the effect of bioaccumulation and long: term accumulation. It shows that the impact on humans and the environment would be minimal, considering biological concentration and long: term accumulation. The annual radiation impact on humans from the discharged water is about 0.1 percent of the radiation dose received from a single dental x: ray.

Furthermore, Japan will manage the annual discharge volume of tritium so that it will not exceed 22 trillion Bq, which is equivalent to the target discharge management value for the TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station before the accident. While other countries also discharge tritium into the sea in compliance with their own domestic laws and regulations, the amount of tritium in ALPS: treated water is smaller than the amount of tritium discharged from most nuclear power plants and other facilities in other countries.

TEPCO...